The apparent shift is bolstered by the fact that the current South American harvest season is in full swing, while the US harvest primarily comes in the back half of the year. But such an extreme drop off is notable.

Schroder's comments appear to be indicative of a growing trend. An April 25 analysis by Reuters revealed that Chinese firms had not signed any new contracts to import soybeans in two weeks. Additionally, large shipments of soybeans from the US to China were diverted after the tariff was announced.

Jim Sutter, CEO of the US Soybean Export Council, told the agriculture data firm DTN that Chinese buyers are reluctant to invest in US goods because of the tariffs.

"Our exporters are not making any new sales of soybeans to China," Sutter said Tuesday. "The tariff situation has created a lot of uncertainty, both in the minds of U.S. sellers, but particularly in the minds of Chinese importers. They don't want to make a purchase, and you are sailing towards them and then have something happen and they arrive in China subject to a 25% import tariff."